Oil Change International is a research, communication, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating a just transition to clean energy. For media inquiries, please contact: Valentina Stackl at [email protected]
Yesterday, the government of Norway and the European Commission released a joint statement on energy cooperation in which the EU officially supported “continued [oil and gas] exploration".
Today, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released a new special report on Africa. The 2022 Africa Energy Outlook suggests a potential to increase gas production on the continent to 2030 even in a “sustainable” scenario.
Today G7 climate, energy and environment ministers issued a communique committing to end public finance for fossil fuels by the end of this year.
The report finds the oil and gas majors are involved in over 200 expansion projects on track for approval from 2022 through 2025. If they go forward, these companies’ investments could create an additional 8.6 billion tonnes (Gt) of carbon pollution – equivalent to the lifetime emissions of 77 new coal power plants.
Russia’s war in Ukraine and fuel price spikes mean international public finance institutions must roll out rapid decarbonization and aid packages, not back track by locking in new fossil infrastructure.
"Voters will reward politicians who stand up for people, not polluters, and taxing windfall profits is wildly popular in every part of the country," said Collin Rees.
"Big Oil is gouging working families, and it’s critical to hold these companies accountable for their exploitative profiteering," said Collin Rees.
"The EU's new international energy strategy is woefully inadequate and would lock in decades' more extraction of deadly gas and oil," said Collin Rees.
A new peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Research Letters finds that existing oil, gas, and coal extraction sites need to be closed down to stay within 1.5C. The study, led by researchers at Oil Change International and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, finds that nearly 40% of developed fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground to keep the 1.5°C limit in reach.
"Congress must crack down on Big Oil's insatiable greed by taxing these windfall profits and moving the United States and the world to renewable energy as quickly as possible," said Collin Rees.
